Rome City Schools Superintendent Louis Byars and board members Alvin Jackson, Will Byington, Jill Fisher and Pascha Burge were all on the mound Wednesday night as the first pitch of the Wolves' season was thrown against the Coahulla Creek Colts.
Down by eight runs to visiting Coahulla Creek after two innings, Rome High School baseball coach Brent Tucker didn’t panic, instead he offered his team some sage advice while facing the massive deficit.
“I talked to them after the second inning and told them let’s just have good at bats,” he said. “We lost our opener last night and then tonight we come out after an hour delay and we’re down 8-0. Let’s put some zeros up ourselves and stay with at bats.”
The advice paid dividends as the Wolves battled hard through the middle innings before breaking out in the final two innings to plate nine runs and grab the improbable 9-8 win on a chilly night at Legion Field.
“Finally in the sixth inning we got some walks and hit by pitches and a big hit. That helped us get the momentum,” he said. “We’re a young and inexperienced team. You could see the confidence start growing. Also the at bats got better and all the sudden we were a good baseball team there at the end.”
The Colts jumped on Rome pitching early, managing to plate the eight runs in the opening two innings. Tucker switched to pitcher Riley Linville, who managed to lessen the Colt’s bats and along with great defensive plays behind him, kept the Colts from plating any more runs over the middle innings.
“That was Riley Linville’s first varsity outing. He’s not overpowering but he was throwing breaking balls for strikes and competing on the mound,” Tucker said. “He just did an outstanding job for us. He’s not a flashy guy. He just kind of gets things done, and that’s what he did tonight.”
While Rome’s offense threatened to score a couple of times earlier in the game, the flood gates broke open in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Designated Hitter Grant Bullard led off the inning by reaching base when he got hit with a pitch. Reece Fountain and Josh Ellard each drew walks. Linville and Joe Wilkinson each reached base when they were hit by pitches. A mix of wild pitches and errors from the Colts allowed Rome to plate four runs, cutting the lead to 8-4.
Will Black lifted a single to deep shortstop and managed to beat out the throw helping plate another run while another error helped the Wolves trim the lead to 8-6.
Bullard, who scored previously in the inning, rocketed a 1-0 pitch to right field for a triple bringing in another run. When the dust settled, the Wolves had managed to cut the seemingly insurmountable lead to 8-7 with one inning to go and grab a ton of momentum.
Rome brought in senior Carson Atkins to pitch the top of the seventh inning. The Colts managed to get a runner to first and then advance him to second base on a sacrifice bunt, putting the insurance run in scoring position with only one out.
The Colts next batter smashed a hard line drive that Rome shortstop Will Black snagged with a solid catch and raced to second base to record the double play and end the inning.
The bang up play helped further stoke the Wolves’ momentum and give Rome a chance heading into the final inning down by one.
After the first Rome batter flied out to right field to open the bottom of the seventh inning, Bryson Bridges reached first on an error by the shortstop. Joe Wilkinson singled to left field, moving Bridges to second base. That’s when Tucker pulled out a key coaching move for the Wolves.
Barritt Cowan caught the Colts by surprise when he dropped a picture-perfect bunt along the first base line on the first pitch he took. Cowan’s speed allowed him to reach base, but the bunt was executed so well that the Colt’s pitcher never had a chance of making an out.
“We switched it up right then. I stayed in the dugout so I could talk to hitters on deck. I told Barritt I want you to get a bunt down right here,” Tucker said. “It’s something we work on all the time. Barritt can really run. I thought it was the right time for it, and he put down a beautiful bunt and that set up the whole inning.”
That left the bases loaded with just one out for Black. After taking the first three pitches for balls, Black took a borderline called strike. He then fought off three straight pitches fouling them away to keep the at bat alive before drawing the fourth ball and the walk. The walk brought Will Costlow home tying the game at 8-8. Costlow was running for Bridges.
“The first five out of seven times we had a 3-2 count, I felt like we swung at ball four. It was something we addressed in between innings,” Tucker said. “I told the guys to quit chasing the ball and take what they give you. That finally started clicking late in the game.”
Jeremiah Farrer then came to the plate and took the first three pitches for balls before smashing a 3-1 pitch into centerfield bringing Wilkinson home for the game-winning run and setting off a big celebration for the Rome players.
The win moves Rome to 1-1 on the season and helps give the Wolves some big confidence and momentum after rallying from eight runs down to earn the win.
“Any win is good. It’s always tough to get that first win.” Tucker said. “We threw two freshmen and a sophomore tonight. This kind of win is really big for confidence and the team morale. They’ve been working hard in practice and it showed tonight.”
Atkins earned the win on the mound for his last inning of work. Several Rome players scored runs on the night. Fountain recorded a double, a stolen base and scored a run. Bullard had a triple and an RBI and scored a run. Wilkinson had a single, an RBI and scored two runs, and Black had a single, an RBI and scored a run.
The Wolves play next on Friday, Feb. 18 at Ridgeland in a non-region contest.